


Pieces of Us

by Silex



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, Feels, Fluff, Selkies, Shapeshifting, Trick or Treat: Treat, nonhuman character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 05:10:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16382036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silex/pseuds/Silex
Summary: Lelani, the sea serpent selkie, understands that her sisters, with their seal skins are different than her in more than just form and it's a rather lonely way to love. She's never thought of things being any other way until a chance encounter when she goes ashore to shed her skin. There she meets a human woman who changes everything.





	Pieces of Us

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rosefox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosefox/gifts).



Lelani let the waves wash her onto the beach so that she could lay in the surf. The sun and sand were hot against her scales and after a year at sea the serpent was content to savor the feeling. As she did every year, she returned to shore to shed her skin, not simply because it was necessary, but because it felt right. She was different from her sisters, who took the form of seals, and lay basking on the rocks whether they wore one skin or another, and she felt that she appreciated the difference more.

Land was where she went to shed, the sea was where she lived the rest of her life. Two distinct parts of her live, aspects evenly divided.

The black and green scales of her back were worn and dull from time and scars, and lice and small creatures clung between the cream colored scutes of her belly, but shedding would fix that.

New skin, new scales. A new year of her life.

As it always did, the split started at her nose with an odd, itchy feeling.

To suddenly remember what it was like to have skin rather than scales, soft skin that could feel how rough the sand was and hair for the breeze to blow through was a shock.

The first bit, when her skin rolled past her neck, but wasn’t quite down her shoulders yet was the hardest part. She wriggled and thrashed in the sand, feeling her arms for the first time in a year, pushing herself awkwardly out of her old skin with a body not yet fit to move.

Once the skin was past her arms the rest was easy.

She could take it with nimble fingers and push it effortlessly off of her, then stand on unsteady legs.

Carefully, she would walk inland, feel the grass beneath her feet and smell all of the flowers and living things. Able to taste, she would savor the fruits that grew in abundance on the land and when she grew tired of all the sweetness she would hunt small animals with their red, warm flesh, so different than the fish that she ate for the rest of the year.

For now though she was content to lay on the sand and enjoy the cries of the birds overhead and the crash of waves on the shore, becoming accustomed to the unmoving ground beneath her.

A sound not unlike the birds woke her up.

Laughter.

Her warm and furred sisters laughed when they played.

Was it one of them, curious and wanting to know who she was and why she was there?

She opened her eyes and rolled over to see a young woman, human by the way she wore plants and dead skins to conceal herself.

Lelani had seen humans before, from a distance, and they were strange to her.

According to her sisters they were dangerous thieves, looking to take your freedom.

This human did not seem particularly threatening, smaller than her and soft looking.

The young woman was staring at her, eyes wide and frightened.

She’d forgotten how expressive her own face was when she shed her skin to wear the form of a woman, and the sight of such comical surprise, reminding her made her laugh.

The woman’s warmly colored skin went pale and she ran across the beach, vanishing into the lush greenery beyond.

Possibly the most fascinating thing about it all was that she had been clutching Lelani’s discarded skin to her chest.

That was fascinating, but made sense. With only the skin they were born in, humans made new ones for themselves to pretend to change.

It was an oddity of theirs, similar to how careful her warm sisters were to hide away their seal skins when they came to shore.

Strange, but nothing to concern herself with.

Instead she wandered the beach, adjusting to walking before she went inland where the ground was more treacherous.

There, by a pool of sweet water, she encountered the human woman once again.

Lelani had been searching the bushes and trees for bird nests, hoping to find eggs or, better, young chicks to eat and then wash down with clear, fresh water.

The woman looked at her, still pale and nervous, but trying to hide it with how she stood, feet planted firmly, as though she too were unused to how the ground remained still, arms crossed over her chest.

“You won’t find it there.”

Lelani stared at her.

What wouldn’t she find?

“I hid your skin away some place you’ll never find and now you have to come with me.”

That wasn’t how it worked, not even for her sisters. They had countless baying songs about stolen skins and diving off cliffs to drown rather than live on land. The songs were sad, but triumphant in a way, full of lost daughters and sisters reunited in the most morbid of ways.

Lelani was far from trapped, but the human woman sounded so certain that she nodded agreeably, curious about the nature of the game that was being played, for her sisters enjoyed games and perhaps humans were similar.

She followed the woman to her home and found that she lived alone, her home built away from any other humans.

That suited Lelani fine, though she occasionally sought the company of her sisters, she preferred quiet to their noise when she could hear it, and their constant motion. After endlessly swimming through the restless waves there were times when she craved quiet and stillness, as the human woman clearly did.

The woman lit a small fire outside her dwelling, much to Lelani’s delight. In the past she had seen fire from a distance, warm flickering light, but up close there was so much more to it. Different colors to the flames, warmth you could feel, and the sound and smell were like nothing she’d ever known. Even the way the smoke and heat made her eyes water was something to savor for its newness.

The wonders only continued as the woman proceeded to use the fire to cook a meal for the two of them, introducing Lelani to new experience after new experience, new flavors and meat cooked hotter than blood so that the juices ran clear.

After the meal the woman asked Lelani to help her clean, which she did without question, mimicking the actions of her host.

As they cleaned the woman talked to her, telling her a story about how if a selkie’s skin was stolen she would stay on land and been the faithful wife of whoever took her skin.

It was a story that she had heard many times from her warm, seal-skinned sisters, who only had a single skin to last them their whole lives. Hearing it from a human was very different, one of triumph and love and loyalty rather than loss and regret and pain.

She could understand the version her sisters told, but liked the human version better. It was still sad in its own way, but there was more to it. Lelani felt that the truth was somewhere between the two, but she wasn’t going to argue with the woman’s story when she was a guest in her home.

The woman offered Lelani a place to sleep off the meal in her own bed, a mat of woven leaves, soft and sweet smelling, with more woven leaves and animal hides to lay beneath. The woman, also tired from so much good food, lay next to her.

It was very different than laying on the sand or grass, better because it was soft and dry and the smoke form the fire kept the biting bugs away from her soft human skin. As she fell rested she wondered if this was how birds felt in their nests in the trees, for the softness of the human woman’s bed gave her the sensation of floating despite being on land.

The young woman lay next to her, close, but not touching her and when by chance they brushed against each other the woman would pull back as though startled. Lelani assumed it to be some oddity of humans and thought little of it, enjoying the warmth and feel of the woman’s bed.

The next day the woman woke her up with more food, fruits and a bowl of something sweet that she had no name for and the human woman took for granted.

Lelani ate with the human woman and again helped her clean, understanding better this time and not needing to watch.

The woman talked about mundane, human things, her plans for the day and why she lived alone.

It wasn’t interesting to Lelani, so she interrupted with something far more important.

“What’s your name?”

After all, if she was a guest, it was only right for her to know.

“Melika,” the woman said, sounding surprised, “Do you have a name?”

Lelani laughed and introduced herself, wondering why it was a surprise to the young woman, Melika, that she had a name of her own.

When they were done cleaning Melika gave her a little tour of the house and its surroundings, explaining that everything there was hers as well now that she lived there. The garden, full of plants and flowers was especially fascinating for Lelani. There were far more of them than Lelani had thought and Melika happily explained what each of them was, how to cook the ones that were food and what to do with the others.

Then she wove a circle of flowers for Lelani to wear because today was a celebration for the two of them.

It was, Lelani was quick to agree. Never had she had an experience like this on land and Melika was quite generous.

Her saying that seemed to leave the human woman feeling relieved. Some of the nervousness from the previous day vanished, replaced by exuberance.

Lelani asked her questions about the plants and house and anything else she could think of and listened happily as Melika answered.

It was something she understood well, with how infrequently she came to the land each time was a new experience and for Melika being able to explain it must have been like experiencing it for the first time.

Later, Lelani decided, it was a favor she would return somehow when they visited the sea.

They didn’t go near the sea that day though, just the clear pool where they had met, as Melika taught her the different paths around the house.

That night Melika once again cooked for them, a different meal this time, fish but in a way that Lelani had never tasted. It wasn’t just that things tasted different as a human, it was that Melika used leaves and bits of plants to change the fish and cooked it until it turned white and flaked apart.

This time Melika didn’t gasp and pull away each time they touched as they shared a bed.

It made Lelani think of her seal-skinned sisters and how they lay alongside and on top of each other on the rocks.

The next morning started the same, then Melika offered Lelani dead skins and leaves to cover herself with, calling it clothing.

The clothing clearly belonged to Melika, for it was too small, both loose and tight in all the wrong places, but Lelani accepted it for what it was, a gift.

Once she was dressed Melika took her down a different set of paths, wider and more well-worn, to show her where the other humans lived.

There were men and women and even children and Melika introduced her to a few of them, explaining that Lelani was a guest of hers.

Lelani found the children fascinating, never having seen them up close before. Instead of looking at her with wary, guarded expressions, they asked her where she had come from.

“The sea,” she had answered truthfully, earning disbelieving squeals from the children and frowns from their parents.

“Melika’s crazy,” the children warned, “She lives alone and watches the water.”

“I don’t live alone anymore!” Melika protested, and then left, taking Lelani with her.

That night Melika was quiet and sullen, troubled by what the other humans had said, but pretending otherwise.

Again Lelani could relate, her sisters were so different from her that there were times she couldn’t stand to talk to them.

The next morning Melika spent the whole day cooking an enormous meal and announced that they were having a celebration.

Then she taught Lelani how to dance, which was like swimming, except there was no water moving around her so she had to pay attention to how her body moved rather than relying on instinct and the currents to carry her.

Melika was a patient teacher and by the time they were too tired to continue Lelani could do a fairly good job of imitating her motions.

That night they slept in each other’s arms, much like how Lelani would wrap herself in seaweed to keep herself from being pulled away during storms.

Each day that followed brought with it new wonders.

Melika taught her singing one day, let her cook the next, and after that started teaching her how to make clothing for herself.

There were countless little gifts, given so casually that Lelani wondered if Melika was unaware of her own generosity.

Of all the times she had spent on land this was the most wonderful and Lelani stayed well past the point where she felt the newly grown set of scales harden beneath her human skin.

If she wanted she could have returned to the sea anytime she wanted, but she stayed with Melika. The human woman was a joy to be around, warm and kind and always willing to answer her questions and teach her new things.

And there were so many new things to learn.

Countless songs and dances, different from the ones her sisters had sang in their barking voices.

She helped Melika tend her garden, cooked for her in gratitude for her generosity, and brought her small gifts, flowers, pretty stones and braided bits of grass to adorn herself with, for Melika seemed to like those things.

It was a wonderful time, but eventually Lelani began to long for the sea and told Melika as much.

The woman went as pale as she had the first time they met and fell silent.

Lelani explained herself, that Melika had been kind to her, taught her many wonderful things, but the sea was her home.

Melika nodded and went back behind the house to where a large stone lay.

Lelani followed, wondering if there was some last thing that the human woman wanted to show her.

Lifting the stone Melika let out a cry of shock, then threw herself sobbing into Lelani’s arms.

Behind her Lelani could see the tattered remains of her old skin, crumbling to dust.

She knew that humans had only one skin and had to be careful with it, just as her sisters had to be mindful of their seal skins when they went to land, but she couldn’t understand Melika’s distress over a skin that wasn’t her own.

It had been a particularly fine one, well shed in a single piece, but if Melika had really wanted to keep it safe she could have found a better place to put it.

Tearfully Melika apologized for what had happened to the skin, begging that Lelani forgive her.

“It was just an old skin,” Lelani reassured, “If you want one that badly I can give you another next year.”

Melika stopped crying and stared blankly at her, “Another?”

“Yes you silly thing,” Lelani smiled at how rapidly Melika’s expression changed to one of confusion. Human faces were so endearing that way, “Though if you’re going to be so upset about it falling apart I hope you’ll take better care of the next one.”

She knew that she was making a promise, but it was an easy enough one for her to keep when all Melika wanted was an old skin and someone to spend time with her. For whatever reason Melika had a hard time believing though. The human woman didn’t give voice to her doubts, but her face said it all so clearly.

“Come to the beach with me,” Lelani said, taking her hand, “You’ll see.”

It would be easier than explaining to someone with only one skin that they couldn’t change. Even her sisters with their seal skins didn’t understand, berating her for her carelessness when she shared the beaches with them.

Melika followed her, silent and confused and resigned like the heroines of the songs her sisters sang. Lelani hoped that she wouldn’t do something like try to drown herself like those songs.

Lelani waded out into the water, feeling its coolness with her human skin, savoring the sensation.

Melika stood on the shore, watching her, hands limp at her sides, eyes pleading for something that Lelani couldn’t understand.

“Please don’t drown,” Melika begged her.

Was it a farewell or something else? Lelani didn’t know the proper response either way so she responded with a question, “Can you swim?”

Melika shook her head.

“Next year when I come back to shed I’ll teach you,” Lelani smiled one last time, enjoying how expressive her face was when she was human, “Come to the beach and wait for me, like you did this year.”

Ducking beneath the water she felt her human form slip away. It was always easier than shedding, one moment she was human, large and awkward in the water, the next she was a smooth and sleek serpent, her motions effortless.

Lifting her head as high as she could she saw that Melika had waded out after her.

The human woman was frantically splashing and grabbing the clothing that Lelani had left behind, searching for something.

For her.

She couldn’t hear as a serpent, but she could see well enough and she knew how Melika’s lips moved when saying her name.

Lelani swam back to her for one last goodbye, swimming in a circle around Melika until a wave lifted her high enough to rest her head on Melika’s shoulder so that she could flick her tongue against the human woman’s face. She could taste salt, but not the salt of the sea.

Tears tasted different, that was something she would remember.

Just as she learned that there were tears of sorrow and tears of happiness.

She couldn’t tell what Melika was saying to her, but she could see the sadness vanish, replaced by joy.

Next year, when she returned to land to shed her skin she would ask Melika what it was that she had said.

And then she would make good on her promise to teach the woman to swim.

Slipping gracefully away she returned to the sea for another year.

This time was different though, this time she had someone who would be waiting for her on land and she discovered that it made all the difference in the world.

Shedding was always a time of renewal and discovery for her, but never before had she anticipated it so much so soon.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for asking for this. It's a lovely, fun, adorable idea.


End file.
